Cobb Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:
1/3 c. olive oil
1/2 c. blue cheese, crumbled (I don't like blue cheese so I use feta)
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon
salt and pepper to taste
1 turkey tenderloin, lightly coated with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper (you could also use chicken breast)
4 strips sliced bacon
1 loaf focaccia, halved horizontally
2 T. olive oil
2 cups arugula, or spinach
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced

Directions:
Preheat grill.
Whisk 1/3 c. oil, blue cheese, vinegar, Dijon, salt and pepper in a small bowl for the vinaigrette.
Grill tenderloin over high heat, turning occasionally, until it registers 180. About 10 minutes per side. Remove from grill and let rest 5 minutes, then carve across the grain into 1/4" thick slices.
Meanwhile cook bacon until crisp in a skillet.
Brush cut sides of focaccia with 2 T. oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, cut side down, over low heat until toasted.
Brush focaccia with vinaigrette; toss arugula with 3 T. vinaigrette to coat.
Layer avocado, tomatoes, turkey, eggs, bacon, and arugula on bottom half of focaccia. Drizzle with remaining vinaigrette, top with remaining focaccia, and cut into 6 wedges.

Makes 6 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
I like this sandwich. I like that there are so many variations that you can make. I sometimes exchange the turkey for chicken, the focaccia for french bread, the arugula for spinach, and the blue cheese for feta. The one thing that remains the same is the vinaigrette.

Southwestern Turkey Club

Ingredients:
8 slices of bacon
1 lb. sliced deli turkey
1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
2 T. lime juice
1-2 T. pickled jalapeno chiles, chopped
12 slices whole wheat sandwich bread, lightly toasted
1 tomato, thinly sliced

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large skillet until brown and crisp, 6-8 minutes; transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 T. rendered fat from skillet.
In a small bowl, mash avocado, lime juice, and chilies with a fork; season with salt and pepper.
Using the rendered fat from the bacon heat turkey in skillet until warmed through.
Spread avocado mixture on one side of each slice of toast. Layer turkey, bacon, tomato, and toast to form four triple decker sandwiches. To serve, skewer with toothpicks; slice in half with a serrated knife.

Makes 4 sandwiches. Total time 20 minutes.

Verdict:
We have eaten these a few times before. We are sandwich fans at our house so this makes a good fast dinner. The kids don't normally eat this (they eat PB&J) but Blake and I really like them. If using the bacon grease to heat up your turkey grosses you out you could omit it. But I won't lie when I say it adds good flavor.

Egg and Avocado Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
coarse slat and ground pepper
1 t. olive oil
1 small green onion, chopped
1 whole wheat English muffin, split and toasted
hot sauce (optional)
1/4 avocado, thinly sliced

Directions:
Beat together egg and egg white; season with slat and pepper. In a small nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Cook green onions until softened, 1 minute. Add eggs and cook, stirring, until almost set, 1 to 2 minutes.
Fold edges of egg mixture in to form a patty about the size of and English muffin. Continue to cook until set, about 20 seconds more.
Place egg on bottom half of English muffin and season with salt and pepper, and hot sauce. Layer with avocado, then other half of muffin.

Makes 1 muffin. Total time 10 minutes.

Verdict:
Just a glorified Egg Mcmuffin. I added bacon to mine. It was like a breakfast burrito on a muffin.

Tortilla Chip Chicken With Avocado Dip

For the chicken:
2 chicken breast, boneless, skinless, pounded thin
8 oz. tortilla chips
1/4 c. flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. bottled salsa
3 Tbsp. olive oil

For the avocado dip:
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. lime juice
1 Tbsp. jalapeno, seeded, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
salt and pepper

For the chicken:
Prepare chicken. Season with salt and pepper.
Pulse tortilla chips in food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a shallow dish. Place flour in a second shallow dish, and in a third shallow dish, blend egg and salsa together with a fork.
Dredge both sides of chicken in flour, then dip in egg mixture to coat. Transfer to chip dish and coat.
Heat oil in pan and saute chicken until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with avocado dip.

For the avocado dip:
Puree avocado, milk and sour cream in blender. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth.

Makes 2-3 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
We have had this before and like it. This time around I used Pace as the salsa because that is what we had on hand. I think next time I make it I will use a salsa with a little more kick. I really enjoy the avocado dip that goes with this. It adds that certain something.

Shrimp Stuffed Avocados With Citrus Aioli

For the avocados:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. each garlic powder, and red pepper flakes
12 oz. shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 avocados, halved and pitted
1 1/2 inch thick slice of red onion
1/3 c. halved grape tomatoes

For the citrus aioli:
1/4 c. mayonnaise
4 tsp. orange juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
Kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Preheat grill.

Combine all ingredients for Aioli in small bowl and refrigerate.

Mix 2 Tbsp. oil with parsley, 1 Tbsp. lime juice, garlic powder and pepper flakes in bowl add shrimp and toss. Brush remaining olive oil and lime juice on halved avocados.

Grill shrimp, avocados, and onion all uncovered over direct heat. Grill until shrimp is pink and grill marks are on avocados. Grill onion until soft. All of this should take about 5 minutes.

Scoop out and dice top two third of flesh in each avocado, leaving some at the bottom so that they hold up. Dice grilled onion. Gently stir together avocado, onion, shrimp and tomatoes in bowl. Spoon mixture back into avocado shells and serve with Aioli.

Makes 4. Total time: about 30 min.

Verdict:
I love shrimp and I love avocados. I wasn't sure if I would love them together but this turned out to be a nice quick meal. I liked the Aioli OK. I could definitely taste the mayo which I am not a huge fan of. Blake didn't eat hardly any of the sauce but that is just because sauce in general is not his thing. The kids ate a bit of shrimp and a bite of avocado (but only because we made them.)

Picture and recipe from Cuisine at Home grilling